Inter Press Service - September 24, 2003
Joyce Mulama

NAIROBI (IPS) - "As if that was not enough, I was deregistered from my church, thanks to the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS," she says.

Apondi's remarks bring to the fore the pains caused by HIV-related stigma and question the role of religious bodies in reducing discrimination, which has been regarded as one of the major hurdles in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

AIDS activists say religious leaders are better placed to fight the pandemic as well as spread messages to eliminate discrimination of those living with the disease, due to their daily interaction with communities. But religious leaders, say AIDS activists, have failed to ease the plight of people living with HIV/AIDS.

They have been blamed for taking part in promoting stigma by condemning and describing those living with HIV/AIDS as "sinners".

At a satellite conference, titled "The Role of Religious Leaders in Reducing Stigma and Discrimination Related to HIV/AIDS", representatives of Christian and Muslim communities agreed that leaders condemning those infected were acting in an inappropriate manner.

The conference was held at the sideline of the 13th International Conference on AIDS in Africa (ICASA) being held in Nairobi, Kenya, this week.

Religious leaders say there is need to train theologians in order to equip them with the necessary tools to fight stigma. "Theologians need retraining so that they are able to handle issues of stigma and discrimination," notes Musa Dube, a consulting theologian and member of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiative.

Since HIV/AIDS is interlinked with human sexuality, reports have often indicated that the best way to fight stigmatisation is to talk about sexuality in the open. This was supported by the Kenya Muslim Supreme Council's Sheikh Al Haj Yusuf Murigi. "Break the silence on sexuality to enable open discussions on HIV/AIDS and everything related to it," he suggests.

AIDS activists have argued that without policies to address stigma, the battle against the disease will not bear any fruit.

Coordinator of the South African-based Africa Network of Religious Leaders Living with HIV/AIDS, Rev Jape Heath, spoke of the difficulty he faced, especially within the church leadership when he announced his HIV status. He called on legislation to protect people living with the disease.

"Religious bodies need to put in place policies and measures to protect people living with HIV/AIDS," he says.

A 2003 UNAIDS Progress Report on the Global Response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic says countries with legislative frameworks that protect HIV-positive people and other vulnerable groups have effectively controlled HIV and Sexually Transmitted diseases.

In sub-Saharan Africa, only 40 percent of the countries have measures to protect the rights of vulnerable groups.

On Sep. 21, UNAIDS director of regional support, Michael Sidibe, called on African countries to formulate anti-stigmatisation bill. "Such a bill is a necessary prerequisite for achieving the desired progress in the fight against AIDS," he told IPS in an exclusive interview.

He said 50 percent of countries in Africa do not have legislation to fight stigma and discrimination. "If we do not have policies to address these issues, how will we eliminate AIDS?" he wondered.

"A few years ago, the challenge was to break the cycle of silence. Today, there is a new wall of stigma and stigmatisation that is proving to be a setback in the battle against the disease," he added.

In response to Sidibe's call, the Kenya government approved a bill that seeks, among others, to criminalise discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

The HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill, 2003, approved on Sep. 23, seeks to make it illegal for an employer to sack an employee, or deny a person a job, because of their HIV status.

The bill, which is yet to be published by the Attorney General's office before it is tabled in parliament for debate, will address the issue of medical doctors disclosing the status of employees to their employers without their (employees) consent.

The bill is expected to reduce the country's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, which is currently standing at 10.2 percent, one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

USAIDS says about 29 million of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are from sub-Saharan Africa. About 55 percent of those infected are women (END/2003)
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